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How Project Management Software Can Save You From Needy Clients

The biggest and most dynamic wildcard for every new project isn’t the location, or the budget, or the timeline. It’s the client.

A difficult client can make even the most basic project a struggle. Here's how project management software can save you from needy clients.

It's Proactive, Not Reactive

One thing I preach to my team is that bad news doesn’t get better with time. If a problem comes up, a change order is needed, a deadline gets pushed back, or a cost is going to run over, you can avoid a whole mess of trouble down the road by being up front with your client right now. Project management software is setup to send out automated updates to your client, as well as your team and your subcontractors.

It Eliminates Frequent Meetings

The right software makes it possible for your client to sign off for approval directly from their cell phone or tablet. No need to meet up for a quick signature, no more waiting to move forward. They can sign off electronically and immediately.

Automated Weekly Reports Are Built In

Clients grow uneasy if they don’t know when that next update is going to come. If they worry that they won’t get any information unless they ask for it, they feel the need to be on guard at all times, keeping a close eye on their investment.

Do them a favor (and yourself) by establishing a consistent weekly touchpoint. If you send out a report every Friday, then the question that pops into your client’s head on Wednesday won’t burn in their mind quite as urgently.

You don’t want to spend every Friday morning scraping together updated numbers, schedule updates, budget reports and site photos to send to your client. The right software does all of it for you. Let the app collect the information and send it out at the right time to the right people while you make progress on the project.

Clients Get Their Own Login Credentials

Your client may have a question at 6pm on Saturday, right as you’re firing up the grill. If the only way for them to answer that question is by lighting up your phone, your burgers are going to burn. With project management software you can give them their own dedicated login credentials, and access to whatever you choose to allow.

Most project management software only allows for one client user account per project, with each additional user incurring you, the builder, extra charges. BuildTools isn’t going to nickel-and-dime you: you can create unlimited user logins for any given project.

Get The Right Software

Every aspect of homebuilding rides on having the right tools. Be sure to have a system that works for you. With a system that was actually designed by homebuilders, you will have all the tools you need to manage client relations right there in your pocket at all times. Learn more about project management software here.

About the Author:Sven GustafsonPresident, Stonewood, LLC - Custom Home Builder

As a 4th generation custom home builder with a software development background, Sven created BuildTools to help his company have a "connection point" for everyone in the building process.